Application Report

SLVA068A – April 1999 – Revised August 2018

Fundamental Theory of PMOS Low-Dropout Voltage

Regulators

ABSTRACT
Most linear modern linear regulators use a PMOS architecture. This document covers the key
characteristics of a PMOS LDO and the theory behind these linear regulators.

Contents
1 Fundamentals ................................................................................................................ 1
2 Regulator Sequence ......................................................................................................... 4

List of Figures
1 Constant-Voltage Source ................................................................................................... 1
2 Output-Voltage Error vs Load Resistance ................................................................................ 2
3 Linear Relation Between RIN and RLOAD ................................................................................... 2
4 Basic Linear-Voltage Regulator ............................................................................................ 3
5 PMOS Enhancement FET .................................................................................................. 4
6 Regulation Sequence When RLOAD Drops ............................................................................. 5
7 Regulator Block Diagram ................................................................................................... 5
8 PMOS Input/Output Characteristic ........................................................................................ 6

List of Tables
Trademarks
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1 Fundamentals
A voltage regulator is a constant voltage source that adjusts its internal resistance to any occurring
changes of load resistance to provide a constant voltage at the regulator output.
The internal resistance of a constant voltage source (Figure 1) must be significantly smaller than the
external load resistor (RIN << RLOAD) to ensure a constant output voltage over a certain range of load
changes.
RIN

VIN RLOAD

Figure 1. Constant-Voltage Source

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The output voltage of a voltage source is calculated as Equation 1:

1
VOUT VIN u
RIN
1
RLOAD (1)
Under a no-load condition (RLOAD= ∞), the maximum output voltage possible is equal to the input voltage
(VOUT-MAX = VIN). As the load increases, the output voltage drops from its maximum value and introduces an
output-voltage error EVO. This error EVO is defined as the percentage difference between VOUT under no-
load condition (VOUT-MAX), and VOUT under load condition (VOUT-LOAD), as described by Equation 2.
VOUT MAX VOUT LOAD
EVO
VOUT MAX (2)
When replacing VOUT-MAX with VIN and substituting VOUT-LOAD with the value in Equation 1, the voltage error is
expressed through the resistor ratio of RIN to RLOAD, as given by Equation 3:
RIN
EVO
RIN RLOAD (3)
A plot of the voltage error over a series of RLOAD-to-RIN ratios confirms that the output voltage error EVO
increases with decreasing load resistance RLOAD, as shown in Figure 2.
50
Output Voltage Error ± Evo / %

40

30

20

10

0
1 10 100
RLOAD / RIN - Ratio

Figure 2. Output-Voltage Error vs Load Resistance

To minimize the error we need a circuit that senses any occurring load changes and, via some kind of
feedback, adjusts a variable internal resistor to keep a constant ratio of internal-resistance to load-
resistance, as described by Equation 4.
RIN RLOAD u k (4)
When the relationship described in Equation 4 is true, RIN then follows RLOAD in a linear relation, as given
by Equation 4. This circuit is shown in Figure 3.
RIN = k x RLOAD

VIN RLOAD

Figure 3. Linear Relation Between RIN and RLOAD

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A circuit that achieves this relationship through adjusting the a variable resistor is basically a linear-voltage
regulator, and is shown in Figure 4.
S D
VIN
PMOS
VGS Pass Element
G
R1

VOUT RLOAD
VERR
Error
Amplifier R2
VREF

Figure 4. Basic Linear-Voltage Regulator

In the linear-voltage regulator shown in Figure 4, we can identify the building blocks discussed in the
following sections.

1.1 Voltage Reference, VREF

The voltage reference is the starting point of all regulators. This reference is usually a band-gap-type
because this kind of reference has the ability to work down to low supply voltages, and provides enough
accuracy and thermal stability to meet the less-stringent performance requirements of regulators. Band-
gap references typically have an initial error of 0.5% to 1.0% and a temperature coefficient of 25 ppm/°C
to 50 ppm/°C.

1.2 Error Amplifier

The error amplifier takes a scaled-down version of the output [VP= VOUT R1 / (R1 + R2)], compares it against
the reference voltage (VP = VREF), and adjusts VOUT via the series-pass element to the value required to
drive the error signal (VERR = VP – VREF) as close as possible to zero. Setting VREF = VP yields Equation 5:
§ R1 ·
VOUT VREF u ¨ 1 ¸
© R2 ¹ (5)
This calculation holds true only if VIN is sufficiently high to keep the error amplifier and the pass element
from saturating.

1.3 Feedback Network

The feedback network scales VOUT to a value suitable for comparison against VREF by the error amplifier.
Because VREF is fixed, the only way to program the value of VOUT is by adjusting the ratio R2 / R1.

1.4 Pass Element

The series-pass element boosts the output-current capabilities of the error amplifier to the higher levels
required by the load. This process involves transferring large currents from the source VIN to the load
under the low-power supervision of the error amplifier. A suitable pass element to carry out this task is a
PMOS enhancement FET. A PMOS FET has the two p-islands for the source and the drain terminals
embedded in an n-substrate; see Figure 5a. The substrate is connected to the source, which usually has
the most positive potential. The drain receives the most negative potential. As the PMOS name indicates,
the device uses p-type conductivity, which is established by applying a voltage to the gate that is negative
relative to the source. The holes, which are the minority carriers in the n-substrate, are attracted by the
negative gate electrode. Moving towards the upper region between the two p-islands, the holes now
become free-charge carriers, establishing a p-conductive bridge between source and drain. This way, the
conductivity of the bridge, and with it the drain current ID, are controlled by the gate-source voltage, VGS.
Because this type of FET enhances its conductivity with increasing VGS, it is called an enhancement or
normally-off type (Figure 5b).

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-ID (mA)

0V -3 V -10 V
S G D
4
-VGS
p p
3
p ± Channel
n - Substrate
2
a) Basic Structure
1

5 4 3 2 1 0 3 6 9 12

-VGS (V) -VDS (V)

b) Input and Output Characteristic

Figure 5. PMOS Enhancement FET

2 Regulator Sequence
This section describes the regulation sequence when RLOAD drops as illustrated in Figure 6. Figure 7
depicts how the regulation sequence described relates to the internal LDO blocks.
When the load resistance drops, the output voltage falls from VOUT1 to VOUT2, and the voltage across the
pass element rises from –VDS1 to –VDS2. VP (which is a scaled-down version of VOUT) falls significantly
below VREF causing the gate-source voltage to jump from –VGS1 to –VGS2.
The PMOS FET now conducts harder, increasing the output current from IOUT1 to IOUT2. The output voltage
and, by virtue of VP, the error voltage start to recover. The gate voltage increases gradually to –VGS3, thus
causing the increased output current IOUT3 to generate an output voltage VOUT. When this output voltage is
scaled down via R1 and R2, the result is a zero-error voltage VERR = 0.
The output characteristic illustrated in Figure 8 confirms the regulation sequence. When RLOAD drops, the
PMOS FET operating point jumps from P1 to P2 and then regulates to P3.

4 Fundamental Theory of PMOS Low-Dropout Voltage Regulators SLVA068A – April 1999 – Revised August 2018
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RLOAD Drops
VOUT

VOUT1
VOUT2

0 t
-VDS

-VDS2
-VDS1

0 t
VERR

VREF

Vp

0 t
VERR

-VGS

-VGS3
-VGS2
-VGS1 Negative VGS
Turns The PMOS
On Harder
0 t

IOUT (ID)

IOUT3
IOUT2
IOUT1

0 t
Figure 6. Regulation Sequence When RLOAD Drops

-VDS

S D
VIN
PMOS
-VGS Pass Element
G
R1

VOUT RLOAD
VERR
Error
Amplifier R2
VREF

Figure 7. Regulator Block Diagram

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-ID

IOUT3 P3
-VGS3
-VGS
IOUT2
-VGS2
IOUT1 P2
-VGS1
P1

-VGS -VDS
-VGS3 -VGS1 -VDS1 -VDS2
-VGS2

Figure 8. PMOS Input/Output Characteristic

For a given quiescent point PN where the output voltage is stabilized (that is, VOUT and VDS are constant),
we can define the internal resistance of the PMOS FET, and the load resistance in general terms as
described in Equation 6:
VDS
RINN
I OUTN
and
VOUTN
RLOAD
I OUTN
Solving both equations for IOUT yields:
VDS V
I OUTN
RINN R
Solving for RIN results in:
VDS
I OUTN RLOAD u
VOUT (6)
With k = VDS/VOUT, Equation 6 provides the linear relation required by a linear voltage regulator.

6 Fundamental Theory of PMOS Low-Dropout Voltage Regulators SLVA068A – April 1999 – Revised August 2018
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Revision History
NOTE: Page numbers for previous revisions may differ from page numbers in the current version.

Changes from Original (April 1999) to A Revision .......................................................................................................... Page

• Added Abstract section ................................................................................................................... 1

• Changed document format ............................................................................................................... 1
• Added text references for all figures and equations .................................................................................. 1

SLVA068A – April 1999 – Revised August 2018 Revision History 7

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